


Until blood is repaid.

by Thesaurus_with_no_words



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Curses, Dragon AU, Fairy Tale Elements, M/M, Magic, cryptid AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 05:12:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13287717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thesaurus_with_no_words/pseuds/Thesaurus_with_no_words
Summary: In which Vegeta is supposed to be getting married, but ends up being mistaken for the bride, and is then introduced to the most offensively colored dragon in existence.For the kakavege week cryptid prompt.





	Until blood is repaid.

“Draaaaagooooon!”

The cry was loud, and Vegeta only had a moment to look around wildly before a giant shadow streaked across the wedding procession, strong wind causing flower wreaths and banners to uproot and whip around the now screaming and running people. Vegeta spared half a thought to his would be bride, before deciding that he didn’t care – she was bound to be well protected by her own guards, and if not, then Vegeta could probably claim emotional trauma and get out of marrying for another couple of years.

No, what Vegeta chose to focus on was the giant mythical creature crashing his wedding. Mind already on the coming battle, he grabbed the sword at his hip to pull out the sharp gleaming blade—Only to remember that the useless thing was ceremonial and probably wouldn’t even cut wet tissue paper. He cursed. That left him with his magic, and luckily it was very hard to disarm a battlemage from that.

Running against the flow of people earned Vegeta several bruises from flailing arms and pushing elbows, but he doggedly continued.  Finally he reached the podium and jumped on to it, then scanned the sky for the interloper. “Come out dragon! I am prince Vegeta of Vegetasei! Face me in battle or flee this place!”

Apparently the dragon heard him. The sound of strong wings beating the air and whipping up a storm could be heard behind him, and Vegeta turned, battle crazed grin already in place, when suddenly there was a loud whoosh and the ground disappeared from under his feet. Vegeta didn’t even have time to scream, or fight, before his head connected with something hard and the lights started dimming. The last thing he felt were strong claws wrapping around him, and the sensation of weightlessness as he heard the sound of screaming grow distant.  ‘Well fuck.’ He thought, and then passed out.

xXx

Vegeta woke up with a start and sat up, eyes wide and wild, expecting danger. What he found was a messy room with walls of stone and dust motes floating in the golden sunlight streaming in from the windows. The fireplace in the corner was cold and covered in old soot, and so was most of the wooden floor surrounding it. Old books lined the walls and in in the far end of the room was something that looked like an old sink and a dining table pushed up against the wall. There was a moldy armchair placed next to the cold heat.

“What the fuck?” Vegeta asked to no one in particular.

Someone answered anyway. “Oh good, you’re up!”

Vegeta jumped at the sudden light voice coming from outside the window, it sounded like a young man, but when he turned to look he was met with the sight of a giant reptilian face barely managing to peer through the big window, its golden eyes alert and curious.

Vegeta kicked off the blankets he was covered with and scrambled backwards, away from the monster staring at him. He might have yelled from surprise. Not fright. He wasn’t afraid!

The dragon – _oh holy gods fuck_ – peered at him with concern. “Aww, don’t worry princess. I’m not going to eat you!” It said, sounding genuine. “Look, I even brought you dinner!” It exclaimed and started trying to squeeze a ginormous scaly set of claws through the window, paying no mind to how they were dripping with blood from by the dead boar clasped between them.

Vegeta stared in silent shock for a while, then shook his head and regained his senses, something the dragon had said springing to the forefront of his mind. “Do I _look_ like a fucking princess to you?! I’m a man!”

The dragon paused, then let go of the dead animal so the carcass hit the floor with a wet thump and the dragon could draw its arms free to better see Vegeta again. It looked him over. “…Are you sure? You’re dressed all shiny and I’m pretty sure I heard you yelling about being a princess before I grabbed you.” It tilted its head. “Maybe you hit your head too hard? You were knocked out by a vase flying around thanks to the storm I whipped up. I was a bit concerned you wouldn’t wake.”

“Yes I’m sure!” Vegeta screamed. “I am a _prince_! Prince Vegeta of Vegetasei, the next ruler of all saiyans!”

The dragon nodded slowly, one scaly hand scratching its chin. “Well there’s no problem then. Prince or princess, it doesn’t matter that much as long as people will still try to come save you.”

“What?” Vegeta asked, thrown. Then something else occurred to him. “Wait, if you’re not going to eat me, why did you drag me here?” In the stories dragons always stole princesses either to eat them, marry them or keep them as treasures for their beauty. Vegeta knew he was good looking, but a scarred and battle hardened warrior who had slayed many monsters in the past probably wasn’t the type a dragon would want hanging around its lair. Thinking of that though, why was Vegeta even discussing this with it? Clearly the knock on his head had disorientated him, since the dragon was still breathing while clinging to the masonry outside the window instead of dead. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. I’m ending you now.”

And with those words Vegeta fired a charged elemental spell right into the dragon’s face.

The giant creature roared in pain and disappeared from sight, throwing itself backwards in the air to get away from the pain. Vegeta ran to the window with a grin, almost slipping on the blood from the boar. He bet the scaly fiend regretted not snatching a helpless princess right now.

He lost some of his good cheer though, when he looked outside and realized that he was many stories above ground, in a stone tower overlooking an overgrown courtyard. Even more concerning was that beyond the ancient castle walls and ramparts, a deep canyon ran around the mountain on which the building stood, with no visible ways to cross. “Shit.” Vegeta cursed.

Looking down he quickly spotted the dragon, who was sitting on its bum in the courtyard and glaring up at him with a wounded frown. “That was mean!” It yelled at him, while it felt its singed snout with one clawed hand.

“Well what the fuck did you expect!?” Vegeta yelled back, before looking back at the landscape. If that canyon went all the way around the mountain, and there was no bridge to cross, then Vegeta would be truly fucked. It wasn’t like he could just fly across it like the dragon undoubtedly did. Mages could fly sure, but they needed extensive charms and talismans to do so, which wasn’t something Vegeta had readily on hand. In fact he only had the silly ceremonial armor he was dressed in and the useless ornamental sword.

Vegeta glared back down into the courtyard, where the dragon was carefully feeling its singed snout and wincing. If the damn lizard was his only way to get out of here, then Vegeta couldn’t afford to kill it, not before he figured out if there was a way out or not. At least it didn’t seem particular malicious, or bright, so perhaps there was a chance he could trick it…

“Oh just—Stay there! I’m coming down.” Vegeta yelled at it, before turning around and looking for a door. Luckily he found one, and though it was locked, it was nothing that a small spell didn’t fix. After that he followed the winding spiral stairs down and out into the courtyard, where the dragon was still sitting on his orange scaly rump on the cracked tiles and watching Vegeta with some apprehension.

“Why’d you shoot me all of a sudden?” It asked, sounding upset, as if Vegeta had actually hurt its feelings.

“You kidnapped me from my wedding and tried to lock me in a tower. What did you _think_ my reaction would be?” Vegeta snarked back.

The dragon looked a bit embarrassed. “Well, more screaming probably, but I didn’t think my price would try to attack me.”

Vegeta rolled his eyes. “I’m not your ‘price’. Now tell me why you brought me here, and where we are.” He demanded.

The dragon scratched its head. “Uhm. Well, just so I could get some strong people to fight really. No one wants to fight me just for fun, so I had to try and come up with a way so they would, and I mean, I _am_ a dragon. I figured this could work?”

Vegeta felt his eye twitch and crossed his arms. “And by ‘this’ you mean kidnapping what you thought was a princess and waiting for knights to come trying to save her.” He guessed.

The dragon nodded eagerly. “That’s what always happens in the stories!” It exclaimed. “So I came back to this castle here and fixed it up a bit, and then I went to find you.”

If you could call a moldy armchair ‘fixing something up’ that was, Vegeta thought with a snort. “Oh? And how exactly will people find us here, did you tell them where we are, and how to get here? Did you tell them your name or intentions?”

The dragon opened and closed its mouth, seemingly caught off guard. Its sharp fangs glinted in the sunlight, but Vegeta simply couldn’t manage to be scared of this dumbass, giant or not. “I-I forgot!” It exclaimed.

“Well bravo.” Vegeta said. “Then everyone probably thinks I’m dead now. Dragons aren’t exactly known for their fondness of knights or warriors, _which I am_.”

The dragon looked at him curiously. “You’re a warrior?” It asked.

“What, did the assault spell to the face not tip you off?” Vegeta snarked.

“Uhm, well yes, but I just figured you were a mage or something?”

“I’m a battlemage.” Vegeta clarified. “I know my way around a sword, hand to hand combat _and_ magic.” He snorted. “Not that I expect a dragon to care for anything but the last.” Even if the beast for some reason wanted to fight people, it wasn’t like it could do martial arts with that giant body.

For some reason the dragon still seemed super exited by these news. “Oh man, you are so much better than a princess!” It exclaimed.

Vegeta waved it off, he already knew he was amazing. “You should go clarify with my people. Make sure they realize that you won’t hurt me, but that you expect exorbitant amounts of gold to give me back. Trust me, they’ll try to get me by force before handing anything over.” And while the dragon was gone, Vegeta would get a chance to explore and try to figure a way out of here. He didn’t actually trust or expect his father or knights to save him.  

The dragon looked nervous. It had grabbed its own tail and was twisting it lightly in its clawed hands. “Wh-what should I say? I’m not that good at threatening people. I get stage fright.”

Briefly closing his eyes, Vegeta pinched his nose and sighed. Fantastic. A dragon with stage fright. “Well you could always give up on this idiocy and take me back?” Vegeta tried. The dragon frowned and shook its head. Yea, Vegeta hadn’t thought so, but he had to try. “Fine. Just show up in front of the palace then. Roar and tell them ‘I am the dragon—“ Vegeta broke off. “Actually, what’s your name? It’s annoying to keep referring to you as ‘the dragon’.”

The dragon smiled. It had a pretty expressive face for a reptile. “I have several names. Around these parts I think I used to be known as Kakarot, though these days I like going by Son Goku better.”

“Well I’m definitely calling you Kakarot then.” Vegeta told it in spite. Kakarot… He had heard that name before though. Yes, in old stories there was the calamity known as ‘Kakarot’ which had forced their people to flee. Just how old was this dragon?

“Anyway. Show up and roar: ‘I am the calamity Kakarot! I have your prince, he is safe, but to get him back you must hand over enough gold to fill your throne room from floor to ceiling!” Vegeta had puffed his chest out and spoken as if he was acting the part himself. Now done, he looked at the dragon who was watching him attentively. “Think you can do that?”

The dragon, Kakarot, nodded slowly. “Yea… Yea I think I can do that.”

“Fine, go away then. Remember to tell them where to deliver the gold. I’m sure they can put two and two together and will come here to get me back instead.” Not that Vegeta planned on waiting around for that, but Kakarot didn’t need to know.

Finally the giant magical being stood up and unfolded his ginormous wings. They spanned the entire width of the courtyard and shone a bright mix of orange and blue. Vegeta thought that this was probably the most offensively colored dragon he had ever had the misfortune to see. Orange, really?

“I’ll be off then. See you in a couple of hours prince Vegeta!”

Kakarot took off, the wind whipped up from his wings strong enough to almost press Vegeta to the ground. But once airborne the dragon was fast, and in no time Vegeta found himself alone in the ruined castle.

“Right, time to get out.” Vegeta said, and picked himself up. If he was lucky, then he would be long gone by the time Kakarot returned.

 

xXx

 

Vegeta walked the grounds of the abandoned castle for a long time, climbing over fallen walls here and there and taking in the bright flowers and trees which were trying to reclaim the place, but mostly wondering at how well preserved the ruins actually were. The castle had to be centuries old, but the solid stones held well against the elements, and though many of the outbuildings had clearly been straw tacked and were now lacking roofs, there were still old signs of people living here. Bowls and pans left on stone tables, rusted weapons resting against the walls and children’s toys left near the cold hearths. Whoever had lived here before, they had left in a hurry.

As he explored, Vegeta got the unsettling feeling of being watched, but every time he turned around he found that he was alone. No one but him appeared to be there, and Kakarot hadn’t mentioned anything about other people being around either, but still… Vegeta couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being stalked by something unseen.

To his consternation it turned out that the canyon did go all the way around the mountain, and at the bottom was a rushing river, barely distinguishable with how far down it was. There was an old stone bridge, but it was cracked right down the middle and missing a large chunk which left a hole that span several feet; too far for Vegeta to jump. Maybe with planks he could make something to get across, but it would take time and it had already been several hours, the sun was turning red in the east and the birds had started singing about evening. The dragon would be back soon.

Vegeta walked back to the castle and decided to look around inside before darkness truly fell since he had no torches or fire to see by. There was a throne room with a row of stone carved thrones, a ballroom with giant double doors leading outside to a terrace and into what was probably once a beautifully kept garden and a library with incredibly dusty but somehow still readable books. Aside from the numerous bedrooms and living rooms, there was also a big kitchen in the servant quarters, and a bathhouse where the slightly damp basin told Vegeta that the water could probably be encouraged to run again. He still had no idea where this was though. That’s what he got for never listening to his history teachers. The civilizations they had conquered in the past were dead and gone, so what did it matter if Vegeta knew about them? 

In the end he went back to the tower room, probably a cell meant for important political prisoners in the old days, and kicked lightly at the now cold and stiff boar corpse lying on the floor. A quick check showed that the dragon had actually gutted and cleaned it properly, and as such the meat hadn’t spoiled. Vegeta decided to prepare it, since there didn’t seem to be anything else to eat. It took some running up and down the stairs, but he ended up finding both firewood and a flint to light the fire. Vegeta was busy eating roasted boar by the time the sound of giant wings alerted him to Kakarot’s return; stealthy the dragon was not.

Kakarot landed in the courtyard it sounded like, and Vegeta ignored him. He had nothing to speak of with the blasted lizard. Silence fell again, and Vegeta continued eating, until he caught the sound of light footsteps going up the stairs towards his tower room. Vegeta froze up. No dragon could step so lightly – there _was_ someone else here!

Not wanting anymore nasty surprises that day, Vegeta put down his food and drew his sword. Ornamental it might be, and not particularly sharp, but the metal was strong and the tip was pointed enough that if thrust forward sharply it could pierce the bowels of whoever was disturbing his meal.

Vegeta watched with sharp eyes as the door to the tower slowly opened, but then faltered at the sight of who stepped through. It was a beautiful young man. A beautiful _naked_ young man, with glorious muscled arms, a marble carved but lean torso leading down to a tapered waist, curved hips, strong thick thighs and a rather fine looking manhood hanging in-between them. Vegeta licked his lips as the firelight danced over the young man’s gleaming pale skin. If this, like the boar, was more of the dragon’s hospitality, then Vegeta would maybe stay a bit longer.

While he didn’t mind the human princess he had to marry for political reasons, and found the woman relatively bright if annoying, his tastes had always been more of the male persuasion. Unfortunately such tastes would not help him put an heir on the throne. It didn’t stop him from looking at this fine specimen though.     

The young man had spikey black hair like the midnight sky, and lovely cheekbones and features, but when he turned his face fully towards Vegeta, the prince caught golden eyes peering out past messy bangs, the orbs reflecting eerily in the firelight, almost like a cats. With a sudden chill running down his back, Vegeta quickly realized that the beautiful youth was neither human nor saiyan, and backed up, sword raised. “Who are you demon?! How dare you enter this place!?”

The young man blinked at him, looking almost startled. “Vegeta? Don’t you recognize me?” He asked.

Vegeta did not in fact recognize the young man before him, absolutely sure he had never seen his visage before, but his light voice _was_ terribly familiar. It couldn’t be… “Kakarot?” Vegeta asked disbelievingly, slowly lowering his sword. “What manner of dark sorcery is this?!” He asked, gesturing to Kakarot’s beautiful, naked and very _human_ form.

Kakarot, for it did appear to be truly him, blushed prettily and looked down at himself. “Do I look weird? I’m sorry… I can’t change my human form. Other dragons are better at it than me, but since I was mortal in the first place, it seems like this is the only mortal shape I get.” He shrugged, but still seemed self-conscious.

Kakarot’s looks definitely weren’t the problem, aside from how Vegeta found them very distracting, it was more the fact that the prince had had no idea that dragons could even shapeshift. And another thing… “What do you mean you used to be mortal?” He asked, still trying to keep his eyes from gliding down Kakarot’s alluring curves. It was just an illusion, Vegeta reminded himself. In reality the man before him was nothing but a big scaly lizard.

Kakarot moved further into the room, apparently unbothered by his own nakedness. Then again, he was also naked in dragon form, and maybe didn’t realize the difference. He bent down by the fire to poke at the boar meat, unwittingly putting his lovely plump rear on display. Vegeta lost track of everything else for a moment.

“Well just that I wasn’t born a dragon. An old magician turned me into one as a favor to my parents, after a terrible head injury almost killed me. But originally I was just a normal human child.” He stood back up, a haunch of meet now caught between his suddenly clawed and faintly scaled fingers. He sucked the juices from the streaming meat and then licked up the drops escaping down his wrist and arm with a little pink tongue.

Vegeta readjusted his pants. “That… Sounds nearly unbelievable. A magician strong enough to turn someone into a dragon? I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

Kakarot shrugged and finished sucking off his fingers. “It was several hundred years ago, so that might be why. There were still people living in this castle then: The ones who drove my family on the run and almost succeeded in killing me. They kept coming after us, even after I transformed, so when I got big enough I attacked them, burned their armies to the ground and retook the castle.” He said it nonchalantly, but there was some old emotions, like remembered pain, flickering in his golden eyes.

Vegeta realized something then. “You _retook_ the castle? Meaning it was yours in the first place?... Kakarot, doesn’t that mean you’re a prince?”

Kakarot shrugged again. “A prince of nothing and no one perhaps, and a dragon to boot. My family was already dead by the time I drove out the intruders, and I was too young to even remember our family name. I couldn’t even recall how to take human form for several years. Not until the old magician found me and re-taught me.”

Vegeta watched him quietly as Kakarot moved around the room in search of a water jug. Finally he found one a gulped it down. “Ahh! Flying always makes me parched!”

“…So you’re not really a dragon?”

Kakarot’s golden eyes found his again, and they seemed to flash. “I am. I’ve been a dragon for much longer than I was _ever_ a human. The other dragons might think I’m odd and avoid me, but that’s just because I was the last one made by the old world’s magic.” He sighed and put the mug down. “It’s not like I could ever pass for human either...”

Vegeta privately thought that was probably true. Perhaps his golden eyes were the only truly inhuman thing about him, but there was a strange air around Kakarot, one of power and allure that drew you near. He also moved slightly wrong, too lightly, almost like he wasn’t really touching the ground, and his skin gleamed with too much perfection, not a scar in sight. That was probably it; he was too beautiful, too otherworldly to pass for a human or a saiyan.

Kakarot sat down in the armchair and stretched, his back popping, and then leaned back with a sigh, his eyes closed. He seemed awfully relaxed for someone stuck in the same room with a person who could probably kill him, dragon or not. Vegeta wasn’t exactly sure how magical Kakarot was, but his skin looked like it would part like soft butter under a laceration spell. Not that Vegeta particularly wanted to fight or injure the dragon right now. Not only would it be a terrible waste of eye-candy, but Kakarot’s history intrigued Vegeta, even if the dragon himself seemed pretty uninterested in delving any deeper right now. There was a library in the castle, Vegeta remembered. He might spend some time there tomorrow.

“So how come you joined me up here?” He asked, genuinely wondering. Kakarot might as well have stayed in dragon form and slept outside, or wherever he usually spent his time.

Curiously this question made Kakarot tense up and go shifty eyed. “No reason… Do I need one?” He asked, not really looking at Vegeta.

It was kind of amusing and sad at the same time how bad Kakarot was at hiding his body language. He was like an open book, or a small kid that hadn’t learned to lie yet. If what he said was true, and the other dragons avoided him while he couldn’t fit in around humans or saiyans, then just how long had Kakarot spent here, in this ruined castle, all alone?

“Suit yourself.” Vegeta told him, and sat down cross-legged by the fire to continue eating his food. Out the corner of his eye he saw Kakarot’s whole visage brighten up, and the human formed dragon scooted closer, as if just being near Vegeta brought him joy.

Vegeta wondered if it was truly to fight people that the dragon had brought him here.

“Did you deliver the message to my people?” Vegeta asked after a little while.

“Yup. They tried to shoot me right away. Not very sportsmanlike.” The dragon complained.

“Let me just remind you that you kidnapped a person today.”

“Yea, but I’m a dragon.” Kakarot argued, as if that gave him blanket permission to nap royals.

Vegeta snorted. “Well, I’m going to sleep. Have fun with people storming your castle tomorrow.”

“O-okay…” The dragon stuttered as Vegeta stood up, turned his back on him and started removing his armor. He could sleep in his tunic for now, but he would demand that Kakarot go get him some more clothes later. Kakarot stayed strangely quiet for a while. “Hey Vegeta? I was thinking… Uhm. Could we spar tomorrow? It’s just, people might still take a while to reach the castle and uhm…”

“So? I have no reason to waste my time rolling around in the dirt with you or whatever it is you want to do.” Vegeta said. “Be thankful that I’m not trying to kill you for your transgressions, and leave me alone.” Sad as Kakarot’s loneliness might be, it wasn’t Vegeta’s problem, and he wasn’t obligated to entertain his captor.

“Oh… Right…” Kakarot said quietly.

Vegeta continued to ignore him as he got undressed. He didn’t want to look too long at Kakarot and have another ‘problem.’ Only when the dragon moved past him, over to the window where he crawled up and balanced precariously on the edge, did Vegeta react.

“Kakarot what are you—NO!” Vegeta yelled as Kakarot threw himself from the ledge. Vegeta ran forward, hand outstretched though he knew he wouldn’t make it in time, and almost threw himself out the window trying to catch a glimpse of the young man who had just flung himself to his death. Just how unstable had Kakarot really been? Vegeta hadn’t pushed him _that_ much!

Heart beating wildly, the prince looked down at the courtyard, but Kakarot’s body was nowhere to be seen. Confused, Vegeta looked around, but there was no sign of a giant scaly dragon anywhere either, and he had heard no sound of wings. Slowly, Vegeta stood back from the ledge. It would seem his captor was both faster and more sly than he previously assumed. Kakarot might act like a silly child, but the dragon was really hundreds of years old at least. Vegeta would be smart not to underestimate him.

That in mind, the tired prince lay down in the dusty bed with blankets that smelled faintly of mold and tried to go to sleep. It should have been his wedding night tonight, but he found that he didn’t regret it much. And as his hand found his own hard member under the blankets, it definitely wasn’t princess Bulma’s blue hair or soft curves he thought of. Instead he pictured glinting golden eyes and rolling muscles twitching underneath him as Vegeta pounded Kakarot’s sweet tight ass. He didn’t feel bad about it either; the dragon had dragged Vegeta here against his will. Kakarot could just deal.

 

xXx

 

Vegeta spent the next couple of days in the library, going over the ancient texts and trying to decipher the old language and writing. He had found Kakarot again after the first night, the ‘man’ back in his dragon form, and had yelled at him until Kakarot agreed to go get more clothes, some not moldy blankets and actual provisions. How he did it Vegeta didn’t care, he was just happy to no longer sleep somewhere he could hear mice running around in the mattress.

It took some days, and a dragon who grew increasingly more sulky and disruptive as no people continued to show, before Vegeta finally found one of the books he had been looking for. It had the same signet stamped into the cover of its leather as many other things in the castle, the thrones included. He found it tucked away in an old chest, where it looked like it had been forgotten or simply missed. No other books made by the royal family seemed to have survived the invasion of their home, but clearly this one had been passed by. Vegeta dragged the thick tome over to a table and sat down to read. It was interesting to say the least, and even more than that, it was informative.

First of all it gave him dates, and names. Vegeta’s assumption had been correct: Kakarot _was_ a prince, or had been anyway, 300 years ago. The youngest of 3, with an older brother and an unnamed older twin. In fact Kakarot wasn’t mentioned by name either for the first several chapters, which seemed to be a sort of journal, he was only referred to as ‘the surviving child’. Apparently the king and queen of the land had been well liked, but as always someone else had lusted for power, and they had been betrayed by their own courtiers. While the king and queen had battled for their home, their infant sons had been stolen away and thrown to their deaths from the highest tower. One had died as soon as he met the tiles in the courtyard, but his twin had been slightly luckier. By landing on his brother’s corpse, Kakarot had sustained life-threatening injuries, but he had survived long enough for the court magician to cast a curse on the boy, taking his strong will to live, his fear and anger and twisting them to feed the spell until a terrible shape broke free.

“A curse, huh…” Vegeta mumbled as he turned the page. This book, while not going into strong details of the events, was still suspiciously well informed. When Vegeta checked through it to find any mention of an author, he found out why. It was written by the same damn court magician who had cast the curse in a desperate attempt to save the youngest prince and their kingdom. The man, Son Gohan, went into more detail as he explained how he had never meant for the curse to be one. It was dark and twisted magic, distorting a person’s true form that way, but he had not done it with malicious intent, and as such the results hadn’t been as disastrous as they could be. There was nothing about how to break the curse though, and only a very brief scribbled description of the banished royal family eventually meeting their end at the hands of their enemies, all except Kakarot who had lost himself to grief, lost his human form and senses, and had payed the traitors back in blood.

Vegeta closed the heavy tome and tapped his fingers thoughtfully on the leather cover. Clearly this book had not in fact been overlooked by the traitors in their purge of the old rule, it had been left there after the fact. Maybe for Kakarot, though Vegeta didn’t know if the dragon and former prince could even read.

Whatever the case, the last sentence in the journal haunted him.

“A curse given as a gift. Dark magic turned light. Like this he shall never again fall, never again meet the ground from great height.” Vegeta mumbled the words to himself.

Clearly the old magician had loved Kakarot, and had wanted the boy to live, even if it had turned out to be a wretched existence. Or maybe not. The dragon himself didn’t seem to mind his shape, could in fact probably not remember much else from before, and it didn’t seem like he longed to break said curse. Provided he even knew of it…

Once again Vegeta suddenly felt the tingling cold going down his back, the one which alerted him to being watched, but when he turned to find whoever it was, the room was as empty as before; no dust motes had been disturbed.

He glared at the shadows for a long moment, still feeling like he was being observed, before he shrugged it off. It certainly wasn’t Kakarot; Vegeta had left the dragon sitting forlornly in the courtyard, bemoaning the fact that no one had showed up yet, and that’s where he presumably still was.

Still, it was getting later in the day, and Vegeta was hungry, so he decided to put away the book for now and go find the beast he currently relied on for sustenance. It was only when he was leaving the library, and thanks to the late afternoon sun falling just right through the grimy windows, that Vegeta noticed the map hanging next to the exit. It was yellowish, dusty and faded, but since it was lit just right by the orange light, the words written across it were clear.

“Paozu…” Vegeta breathed the words with disbelief. He walked closer and read the words once more, but they stayed the same. Vegeta clenched his fists and felt his shoulders go tense, his jawbone practically groaning from how hard he was gritting his teeth. _That damn blasted useless dragon!_

xXx

The heavy doors to the courtyard were thrown open with a bang, and Vegeta stalked outside, each step powerful and filled with fury. “ **Kakarot!** ” He roared.

Kakarot, right now in human form and wearing loose pants thanks to Vegeta’s insistence, turned around with a startled expression. “Vegeta? I was in the middle of training, what is—“

“You fucking MORON!” Vegeta yelled as he strode closer. “Are you completely braindead?! No one is going to show up when you’ve decided to hole up in the middle of the FUCKING FAIRY KINGDOM!”

Kakarot took a step back from Vegeta’s advancing form, golden eyes wide. “Wh-what does that matter?” He stammered, sounding genuinely confused.

“What does it matter?” Vegeta repeated mockingly. “Oh you know, just the fact that no mortal can get through the fucking forest surrounding this _cursed_ place?!”

“T-they can’t?” Holding up his hands, Kakarot kept backing away. “But the fairies and gnomes complain about human poachers and mercenaries wandering in all the time!”

Vegeta felt his eye twitch. “And what do they do to these poachers?” He asked, dangerously calm.

“We-well…” Now Kakarot suddenly looked a bit guilty, and slowly the problem seemed to occur to him. “…They eat them?”

 _‘Oh fuck this noise.’_ Vegeta thought and started speaking an assault spell. He was done with this dumb dragon and being stuck here. Curse or not, it wasn’t Vegeta’s problem and he was getting the hell out.

 **“Caro ruptis – fulgur impetum dedit!”** Blue lightning sprang from his hands and rushed the still wide-eyed dragon, the roar of thunder sounding in its wake.

Kakarot yelled and narrowly dodged out of the way. He fell and had to roll just so his heart wouldn’t get pierced, but the blue lighting followed him like a beast with a mind on its own, and seconds later he screamed as searing pain ripped through his right arm and shoulder – the spell rendering flesh from bones like vicious claws.

Vegeta kept advancing on his downed prey, blue electric charges crackling in the air around him and eyes narrowed as he continued spitting magic.

Kakarot hadn’t even caught his breath after the last attack, his arm was in fleshy ribbons and the pain was so blinding that he couldn’t think – couldn’t change. Desperately he tried to call on his scales, his bigger form which had some resilience to magic, but the electric charges kept tearing through him and causing his fragile human body to seize and convulse. Another spell hit him, and he screamed again, legs kicking uselessly as he tried to get away.

“Please stop!—Vegeta, _please_!” He sobbed as he tried dragging himself along the ground, away from the furious mage stalking him, with his one working arm. Blood was gushing from his wounds, soaking his cotton pants and turning the ground beneath him dark.

But Vegeta didn’t heed his pleas and he didn’t stop. “ **Corrupto sanies!** ” He yelled, causing dark energy to rush forward and sink needle like tendrils into his victim’s already deep lacerations.

Kakarot cried out again when new pain assaulted him, this time deep and burning, like lava was trying to burst from inside his wounds. He gagged when his sensitive nose caught the scent of rot, and had to fight rolling nausea when he turned his head and saw how his wounds – which had just been bleeding bright crimson – were turning blackened, the flesh dying and putrid yellow pus seeping out of the rotting meat. Dark tendrils turned visible under his pale skin as the curse infected his blood and rushed towards his wildly beating heart.

The dragon collapsed, the corruption curse Vegeta had cast on his wounds working fast and mercilessly. The prince prowled closer, determined to finish this once and for all. He quickly reached his downed victims side, and kneeled down.

To Vegeta’s surprise the dragon wasn’t unconscious. As his shadow was cast over the seemingly young man by the red evening light, Vegeta watched how feverish golden eyes fluttered open and slowly focused on his own black ones. Water quickly filled those golden orbs when Kakarot saw his killer leaning over him. “Please…” He whispered, voice weak and broken as a single tear escaped and rolled down his cheek.

For a second it almost looks like Vegeta would hesitate, but then his dark eyes grew steely and cold again. “I’ll end you quickly.” He promised. “You’ll feel no more pain then, just lie still.”

With a heartbroken sob Kakarot closed his eyes and waited for the blow to come. He shouldn’t have taken human form – he had known it was dangerous, stupid, but he just… It had been so long since he’d had anyone to... “I sorry…” He cried weakly. Darkness was already encroaching, the putrid rotting curse coursing through his blood like fire. “I- I just didn’t want to be alone anymore…”

Vegeta felt air catch in his throat at the whispered confession, and suddenly it was no longer a slain dragon lying at his feet, not a fearsome fairytale monster or a terrible beast. It was just a crying young man in terrible pain, already dying from Vegeta’s curses, even though he had been cursed already. Cursed to stay here, in this unreachable castle, completely alone….

“Shit.”

Before either part could do anymore, strong wind started picking up in the courtyard, the skies above going grey as dark clouds rolled in from the horizon – too quickly for it to be a natural storm. Vegeta noticed the change immediately, and was instantly alert. He knew the feeling of an enemy attack from the battlefield, but who..? It couldn’t be Kakarot; he was already lying at Vegeta’s feet and bleeding out, too out of it to transform, much less do magic.

A cold chill ran down Vegeta’s back. The same as before, the one telling him that someone was watching him with dark intent. He stood up and looked around, and finally he noticed where they had ended up – exactly _where_ Kakarot was lying with a pool of his own dark blood spreading around him.

They were right below the tallest tower.

_“Murderer”_

The voice was young, a child’s, but it was so deeply distorted and _wrong_. With a startled gasp Vegeta spun around, and this time he didn’t meet empty space. Instead he came face to face with a lookalike to the dying man lying by his feet, only much younger. Nothing but a toddler. Black swirling shadows seemed to seep from the being, and as it raised its oversized head to look at Vegeta with cold dead eyes the temperature dropped – rime appearing on the flagstone.

 _“Murderer!”_ It hissed, blood flowing from its mouth and dead black eyes. “ _MURDERER!”_

Suddenly the black shadows exploded from it and rushed him, and Vegeta could do nothing but scream as he was swallowed by freezing and paralyzing total darkness. He struggled for breath, blood flooding his lungs as a child’s terrified scream filled his ears. The sound grew louder and louder, until suddenly it cut off with a dull thud and a wet crunch.

Vegeta blacked out.

 

xXx

 

It was nighttime when he woke up again.

Vegeta was surprised that he actually _did_ wake up. He rubbed his sore neck with a grimace as he slowly sat up. His head was throbbing and his body felt chilled to the bone. Apparently the… _whatever it was_ , had decided to spare him, or perhaps it simply hadn’t had the power to kill him – _yet_. Vegeta knew a bit about beings like that – twisted spirits of the dead with grudges and hate binding them to this world, growing only stronger if provoked. Well, Vegeta could guess about the origins of this one, and provoke it he certainly had.

Apparently a dragon wasn’t all that haunted these ruined halls.  

The somber thought reminded him of why he had ended up here in the first place, and Vegeta’s eyes widened as he quickly whipped around to find Kakarot.

The dragon was gone.

The only sight which greeted him was a now tacky pool of dark blood shining accusingly under the moonlight, right below the window of the tallest tower. Vegeta wondered if it was dumb luck or instinct which had made Kakarot drag himself to that exact spot despite his heavy wounds.

Whatever the case, Vegeta knew sitting around like an idiot was not safe. He had to get away from here, and hopefully distance would be enough to get away from whatever curses hang over this place.

Then again, if Kakarot died as a result of Vegeta attacking him while his defenses were down…

Kakarot genuinely hadn’t seemed to be expecting the attack. He had been laughing awkwardly and rubbing the back of his head just moments before, a slight blush covering his cheeks, only for his eyes to grow wide and shine with fear as Vegeta suddenly attacked him.  With a shudder Vegeta involuntarily recalled the spirit of what was presumably Kakarot’s dead twin calling him a ‘murderer’. If he left this place with blood on his hands, then there was no telling just _what_ would choose to follow him.

That in mind, Vegeta stood up with a groan and decided to find the dragon. It wasn’t difficult. Bloody drag marks and smeared red handprints littered the floor and the walls as Kakarot had presumably first dragged himself along, then limped while leaning on the walls. Vegeta followed the trail slowly, his own limbs stiff and still cold. He wrinkled his nose at the faint traces of rot hanging in the air. The last curse he had cast, that had been heavy magic meant to kill… It was meant to give a slow painful death, and in hindsight, had been totally unnecessary. Kakarot had been defenseless; sharpened energy could have done the job just as well, and would have finished it both faster and cleaner. That damn corruption spell just happened to be one of Vegeta’s favorites to inflict on his opponents thanks to how painful and nasty it was, and he had been so angry… Vegeta sighed as he started up the stairs. He really should learn to control his temper when not on the battlefield.

Why the wounded dragon chose to make his nest in the same damn tower he had once been thrown to his death from escaped Vegeta, but there he still was, lying on a new not mouse-inhabited mattress, which was now instead soaked in blood and pus and would probably have to be burned. It stank of rot in here and the room was terribly cold, the fire not lit. Vegeta closed the door to the room carefully, but his footsteps on the creaking floor were still enough to make Kakarot wake from his fevered delirium with a gasp.

Glassy golden eyes seemed to roll around their sockets, unable to focus properly on Vegeta. “Blac… Blackie?” Kakarot croaked in a weak voice.

“No.” Vegeta told him as he stepped closer to the prone shaking form on the bed. He wasn’t sure who Kakarot was calling for, though he had his suspicions.

At the sound of Vegeta’s voice Kakarot shrank away, closer to the wall as if the few inches would help save him. Vegeta frowned but couldn’t blame him for the reaction. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Vegeta told him, not really expecting to be believed. “Not anymore.” He added as he walked over and kneeled on the bed next to the other man. 

Vegeta grimaced as he took in Kakarot’s injuries. The infected pus soaked lacerations were deep enough to spot white bone splinters peeking through, and the veins trailing from the wounds were a dark web stretching across Kakarot’s whole chest. The infection had undoubtedly already reached his heart.

This would take some work, assuming that Kakarot even _could_ be saved… Vegeta cursed lowly and placed his hands on Kakarot’s clammy chest, the man flinching under his touch, before he slowly started to speak a healing spell.

“ **Sana carne - vulnera quaeque sarcirent -  solve fasciculos tenebris.** ” Vegeta whispered in a rolling tongue. He wasn’t great at healing spells, but this was his own handiwork he was undoing, which helped. He knew the cause, and though volatile, the dark magic coursing through Kakarot’s veins was still his.

The dragon gasped as the infection started retreating, the pulsing burn slowly fading, but then he screamed when his splintered bones tried to reset themselves and failed. Vegeta cursed again as Kakarot flinched and spasmed underneath him, and moved his hands to the other man’s arm to manually reset the bone. Kakarot cried out again, golden eyes already wide and pained as he now watched Vegeta, no doubt expecting the prince to make it worse. Despite the extra mana it would take, Vegeta decided to show some mercy.  

“ **Dissoluere dolor**.” Vegeta spoke, and let the spell work its pain extinguishing magic before gripping the bone and pulling. It made a nasty sound, and more blood welled forth, but Vegeta was used to the gore from the battlefield and kept his grip firm as blue tendrils of light seemed to knit Kakarot’s broken flesh together.

It took a long time. For over an hour Vegeta whispered spells over Kakarot, the dragon twisting and moaning underneath him until Vegeta had to sit astride his hips just to still him. Normally the position would have led Vegeta’s mind in other directions, but in this case the pained grimace on Kakarot’s beautiful but deadly pale face was enough to kill any such stirrings. The fact that Vegeta was very rapidly draining his mana reserves with these kinds of light spells, to which he was unsuited, didn’t help either. By the end of it Vegeta was as shaking and pale as Kakarot had started out, and instead of standing up he simply slumped forward until he was lying on the dragon’s chest.

Underneath him Kakarot froze. Vegeta closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable freakout, but after a long silence, Kakarot only asked a single question. “Why… Why did you save me?”

Vegeta just grunted into his neck. Kakarot’s still smelled like pus and metallic blood, and though he still wasn’t completely healed his skin was no longer corpse cold. Vegeta could do nothing to replenish the blood he had lost, but with Vegeta acting like a living blanket, the other man was unlikely to freeze.

“Y-you already had me,” Kakarot continued, voice confused and still weak. “If you had left me here I would have died. You would have been free.”

“And a murderer.” Vegeta replied gruffly.   _‘—A cursed one at that.’_  He added silently. It wasn’t sentimentality which had driven him to save Kakarot, but the dragon didn’t need to know. “I… Lost my temper with you, and for that I am sorry. Getting kidnapped on my wedding day and taken somewhere no one can find me proved more stressful than I had been prepared to deal with.” Well, not really. Frankly Vegeta didn’t give a shit about missing his wedding, and partially hoped they would just call the whole thing off while he was gone, or make his otherwise useless little brother do it, but again, he needed an excuse.

Kakarot seemed to ever so slightly relax underneath him, so Vegeta continued. “I have no excuse Kakarot. What I did to you was… Needlessly cruel.”

What else to say? What else? Vegeta was not good at apologies. “…I know you might not be able to forgive me, but I promise, I will take care of you until you are well again. I won’t harm you again, you have my word.” – Not that Vegeta was really a man of his word when given under duress, like say being stuck in a haunted castle, but the dragon didn’t know.

Again Vegeta’s comforting lies seemed to work. Kakarot went limp underneath him, as if he had stayed tense while waiting for attack until now. The dragon let out a deep rattling sigh. “I-I’m sorry too Vegeta. Sorry I kidnapped you like that… I just thought that fighting people in my human form might be interesting, and I was also… I mean, I guess I felt a bit…”

“Alone?” Vegeta supplied.

Kakarot nodded slowly, as if embarrassed. Vegeta wasn’t sure if he remembered admitting to being lonely when Vegeta had been about to kill him. In any case Vegeta now used the show of weakness to his advantage. He lifted his hand and started carting it slowly through Kakarot’s dark soft hair, which caused the dragon to gasp quietly. Judging by the way he then sighed and went lax underneath Vegeta’s simple caress, he probably hadn’t been touched kindly by another person in years, if not decades. If Kakarot was this starved for touch, then Vegeta wondered how far he would be able to get with simple skinship.

A curious idea came to Vegeta then: Instead of killing the dragon, why not just seduce him? That way he would surely get a free ride past the blasted magical dark forest, right back to his own kingdom. Then, once he was back amongst his own, he could subdue Kakarot or kill him if necessary. Crude? Yes, perhaps so, but also much more satisfying to do and with a much lower chance of getting killed by a vengeful spirit.

Decision made, Vegeta smirked devilishly into Kakarot’s shoulder as he scratched the other’s scalp and the dragon practically purred beneath him – the earlier pain, if not already forgotten, then clearly at least partially forgiven. “Sleep now Kakarot. I will not leave you.”

Kakarot’s purring stilled. “…Do you really mean that Vegeta?” He asked in a small and slightly disbelieving, but still awed voice.

“Yes. I’ll be right here. You’re safe now.” Vegeta assured. However the dragon chose to interpret that was his own fault. Vegeta would certainly stay right there until morning, and until he had gotten what he wanted from Kakarot, but it wasn’t like he was promising the dragon ‘forever’. Judging by the way Kakarot suddenly brought his uninjured arm up around Vegeta’s shoulder and pulled him close in a hug, he clearly seemed to think Vegeta meant something more permanent though. Well, whatever. “Sleep now.” Vegeta repeated.

Kakarot sighed blissfully, apparently not bothered by the smell of rot or the cold in the room, and fell asleep underneath Vegeta within minutes.

The prince on the other hand lay awake in the darkness for a long time. Outside the wind was howling, the unnatural storm having still not let go of the castle, and a weird scraping was sounding from below the half open windows, as if something was clinging desperately to the walls by their nails…

Vegeta couldn’t wait to leave this fucking place.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I was doing something with Chinese mythology and Goku as a kirin, but yea... Dragons!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm kinda meh about this, but I'm too tired to edit anymore. I didn't manage to write the ending in time, but it is planned.  
> Vegeta really is an ass in this, but he is not completely comfortable with cold-blooded murder, regardless of what he tells himself. Silly prince.


End file.
